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Hello Jammu News at 11:28:00 PM 0
Reserve Bank Of India


Ahmedabad, Jan 28 :  The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Reserve Bank of India on a PIL filed by eight trade federations in the state seeking the court's direction to the central bank to not allow unions to go on strike.

Bank unions may go on a two-day nationwide strike on January 31 and February 1, followed by a three-day strike from March 11-13, and indefinite strike from April 1, mainly over their demand for wage revision.

The division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice AJ Shastri issued notice to the RBI, returnable on January 30.

The federations have prayed to the court to direct the RBI to not allow banks to go on strike and also take strict action against employees for frequently going on strikes for their own financial benefits.

The PIL said such strikes by bank unions are illegal and are meant only for their own financial benefits at the cost of the public who have to suffer harassment and financial loss.

The bank employees associations are going on strike over issues like salary, leaves, and other benefits, which can be achieved as per the provisions of law and not by declaring strikes, the PIL claimed.

The PIL claimed the strike would cause a loss of Rs 12,700 crore per day.

The PIL has been filed by Gujarat Traders Federation, Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Central Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad Auto Parts Association among others.

The strike call has been given by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of the nine unions, including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).
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Hello Jammu News at 6:35:00 PM 0


Mumbai, Aug 7  :   With the headwinds to growth rising from all around, Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das Wednesday admitted the economy is in a slowdown mode, but termed it as cyclical and not structural one, and exuded confidence growth will pick up the momentum fast.

The admission of the rising headwinds to growth led the monetary authority to slash the lending rates by an unprecedented 35 bps to 5.40 percent in the fourth successive rate reductions since he assumed power in December.

None of the macro-indicators have been promising since the past many months-plunging auto sales which hit a 20-year low in July, plummeting IIP growth which hit a 57-month low in June, falling exports and the continuing bloodbath in the markets, coupled with trade wars and increasing challenges to global economy all point to the gathering clouds.

The statement also comes amid many key personalities, including engineering giant Larsen & Toubro chairman AM Naik expressing concerns on the growth front.

"Our understanding is that at this point, it is perhaps a cyclical slowdown, not really a deep structural one.

Nonetheless, we have to recognise that there is room for certain structural reforms to be undertaken," Das told reporters at the customary post-policy presser.

He, however, exuded confidence that growth numbers will move up faster going ahead driven by the measures being taken by the government and the central bank, and partly due to the base effect.

Based on his interactions, Das said the government is planning more measures to revive growth, and also pointed out to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statements on sector-specific booster doses on the anvil.

Attributing the slowdown to both demand as well as investment slowdown, Das said, "both demand and investment put together are having a dampening effect on growth." 

The RBI itself has reduced its growth estimate downwards to 6.9 percent for FY20 from 7 percent it had projected in the June policy.

At present, Das said both urban and rural demand has been hit which is evident in the slowdown in sales of two- wheelers and tractors in rural areas and passenger cars in cities. However, he said RBI is hopeful of a revival and pointed out to the estimate of the growth number hitting 7.5 percent in the last quarter of the fiscal.

Moves like the RBI's rate cuts of 1.10 percent in 2019, and also the commitment to ensure systemic liquidity in the surplus mode will also help, he added.

"I think credit flow will now revive and measures taken today will augment credit flow into the system. This should help boost growth numbers as well," he said.

Speaking to reporters here last week, L&T chairman Naik had said we should consider ourselves "lucky" if growth touches 6.5 percent in FY20. It can be noted that the March quarter GDP printed at a five-year low of 5.8 percent while the FY19 GDP printed in at a four-year low of 6.8 percent and everyone is the same page that June quarter would be even lower than the preceding three months to March.

Others who have expressed concern on the growth include Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj and mortgage major HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh.

Amidst all these, government has surprisingly set a target of doubling GDP to USD 5 trillion by 2025, which requires an annual growth rate of over 8 percent                       [Agencies]                                                           
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Hello Jammu News at 5:43:00 PM 0


Mumbai, Aug 7  :  Governor Shaktikanta Das Wednesday termed the steeper 0.35 percent repo rate cut as a "balanced" call given the domestic and global developments.

He explained that a 0.25 percentage points reduction, as it has done thrice this year since February, would have been "inadequate", while a 0.50 percentage points cut would have been "excessive".

The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the fourth consecutive times in a 4:2 vote resolved to cut the rates by 0.35 percent, taking the total cuts during 2019 to 1.10 percent to a near record low of 5.40 percent.

Das said the RBI has been pre-emptive in its actions on rates and the policy stance through the year and has also provided adequate liquidity to the system always.

Addressing the media at the customary post-policy presser, Das said there is nothing sacred about multiples of 0.25 percent cuts and also made it clear that the rate call cut has not been taken on "gut feel" but on hard data.

"Too much should not be read into it, it is judgement call which the MPC has taken," he said, adding that it was "prudent" to be accommodative.

The RBI will ensure that there is sufficient liquidity is available for the economy.

Expressing satisfaction on the transmission process by saying that the financial markets have fully absorbed the benefits of the three past rate cuts and expressed confidence that there will be more rate cuts in the future by the banks.

Das said the decision of the MPC is its "own autonomous, independent decision." 

To a question on real interest rates and the levels which the central bank is targeting, he said this is not the right time to look at that aspect as the RBI focus is to meet the output gap      [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 9:43:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jul 1 :  The government is considering strengthening the Reserve Bank's regulatory and supervisory powers over the non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha Monday.

Replying to a question, the minister said RBI was closely monitoring the liquidity position of NBFCs and will continue to monitor the activity and performance of the sector with a focus on major entities and their interlinkages with other sectors.

The central bank, she added, has also informed that with a view to strengthen the NBFCs and maintain stability of the financial system, it has been taking necessary regulatory and supervisory steps.

"Government has received a proposal from RBI to strengthen RBI's regulatory and supervisory powers under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and the same is under consideration," Sitharaman said in a written reply.

She further said that the government, from time to time, infuses capital in public sector NBFCs based on an objective assessment of requirements.

However, there was no proposal under consideration of the government to recapitalise private NBFCs.

As on June 23, 2019, 9,643 NBFCs were registered with RBI.

To another question, the minister said that gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio of NBFCs (deposit-taking and systemically important non-depositing NBFCs) was at 6.6 per cent during 2018-19, up from 5.3 per cent in the preceding financial year.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:03:00 PM 0


Mumbai, Jun 26  :   The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday asked the public, casting aside their doubts, to continue accepting coins of various denominations pumped into circulation regularly.1

The RBI puts into circulation coins minted by the central government.

It said coins have distinctive features which are being introduced from time to time with various themes -- economic, social and cultural, in order to meet the transaction needs of public.

As coins remain in circulation for a longer period, coins of different designs and shapes circulate at the same time, the RBI said.

"It is reported that there are doubts in some quarters, regarding the genuineness of such coins which has resulted in reluctance on the part of some traders, shop-keepers and members of public to accept coins. This has impeded the free use and circulation of coins in certain pockets of the country.

"The Reserve Bank appeals to members of the public not to give credence to such rumours and continue to accept these coins as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation," it said in a release.

Currently, coins of 50 paise, Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10 denomination of various sizes, theme and design are in circulation.

Separately, the RBI also asked all banks not to turn away customers who come to exchange coins at their branches.

The RBI circular on Facility for Exchange of Notes and Coins advises banks that none of the bank branches should refuse to accept small denomination notes and/or coins tendered at their counters.

However, the RBI continues to receive complaints about non-acceptance of coins by bank branches, causing considerable inconvenience to the public at large, the RBI said in a notification.

"You are, therefore, once again advised to immediately direct all your branches to accept coins of all denominations tendered at their counters for transactions or exchange and ensure strict compliance in the matter," the RBI asked all banks through the notification.              [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 9:26:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jun 25  :   The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are closely monitoring the rupee exchange rate against the dollar on an on-going basis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday.

The rupee has depreciated from Rs 60.50 to a dollar in 2013-14 to Rs 69.74 to a dollar in April-December of 2018-19, the minister said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

"The government and Reserve Bank of India are closely monitoring the emerging external position including exchange rate of the rupee on an on-going basis and are calibrating policies or regulations to support robust macroeconomic outcome," she said.

The rupee closed at 69.36 to a dollar on Tuesday.

Inward remittances from Indians residing abroad stood at USD 58.31 billion in April-December 2018-19, against USD 69.12 billion in the full financial year 2017-18.

It was USD 61.29 billion in 2016-17, USD 65.59 billion in 2015-16, USD 69.81 billion in 2014-15 and USD 69.63 billion in 2013-14.

Sitharaman said as per the latest annual report of the home ministry, over Rs 15,000 crore and over Rs 20,000 crore was received in 2016-17 and 2015-16 under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. "No reason has been stated for the decline in the foreign contribution in the report".
                                                [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 10:24:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jun 24 :   RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, who was in-charge of the monetary policy department, has resigned six months before the scheduled end of his term, sources said Monday

This is the second high profile resignation in the past six months at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 

In December, governor Urjit Patel resigned nearly nine months before the end of his scheduled term over differences with the government. 

Acharya had joined the central bank on January 23 last year after Patel was elevated to the post of governor in September 2016

The RBI is now left with three deputy governors N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and M K Jain

Acharya, a New York University economics professor who once called himself the 'poor man's Raghuram Rajan', was appointed for three years

He took over at a time when the central bank was facing criticism for repeated changes in the rules related to deposit and withdrawal of money, post-demonetisation.                        [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 1:00:00 PM 0

Former Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das Wednesday assumed charge as the RBI Governor.


New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) Former Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das Wednesday assumed charge as the RBI Governor.

He replaces Urjit Patel who abruptly resigned amid a face-off with the government over issues related to governance and autonomy of the central bank.

"Assumed charge as Governor, Reserve Bank of India. Thank you each and everyone for your good wishes," Das said in a tweet.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed Das as a person with "right credentials" for the RBI top job.

"Das has been a very senior and an experienced civil servant. He has almost his entire career in the management of finances and economic management of the country both, when he was in the state government of Tamil Nadu and also when he was in the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance," Jaitley said.

Das, who becomes 25th governor of the RBI, is a former IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Jaitley said his appointment was necessitated by the resignation of Urjit Patel as Governor of the RBI on Monday.

"I think, he (Das) has the right credentials. He has been extremely professional, has worked under various governments and has excelled himself. I am sure, in meeting the challenges before India's economy as Governor of Reserve Bank, he will certainly act," the finance minister said.


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Hello Jammu News at 9:39:00 AM 0


New Delhi, Sep 10 : Internet major Google is learnt to have agreed to follow the RBI's local data storage norm for payment services but wants time until December to comply with, according to a government source.

"Google during the US visit of Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad conveyed to him that they are ready to comply with RBI rules but want two months more to comply with data storage rule," a government source told reporters.

Prasad visited Google headquarters in California in August-end where he met Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Google runs digital payment services in the name 'Google Pay'. The company has claimed 22 million people use the platform every month and 750 million transactions have been made with USD 30 billion in annual run rate of transaction value.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed all companies running payment services to store data in India by mid-October.

When contacted, a Google spokesperson said that cross border data flows today are ubiquitous and an essential phenomenon for global economic activity and universal access to information.

"Soaring data flows generate more economic value and hence the socio-economic impact of restricting data flows must be thoroughly considered while framing any policy. There is a need to find practical and contemporary solutions to policy issues in line with global best practices. we have nothing to add at this point of time," the spokesperson said.

Pichai on September 5 wrote to IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad pushing for free flow of data across borders and said such a step will encourage global companies to contribute to India's digital economy as well as benefit Indian startups that are looking at expanding globally.

Amid concern around data security, the Reserve Bank of India has asked payment services firms to provide an update on action taken by them to store transaction data in the country in every fortnight.

The directive of the RBI has seen resistance from foreign firms.

The banking regulator had further said that at present "only certain" payment system operators and their outsourcing partners store the payment system data either partly or completely in the country.

The order was issued at the time social media major Facebook faced a global backlash over breach of user data.

Google operates cloud region in India - which comprises three data centres and offers services like big data, storage and networking. Google competes with the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft in this space. However, the company has not explicitly states if the payment related of Indian consumers are stored in these data centers.PTI
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Hello Jammu News at 9:34:00 AM 0


New Delhi, Sep 10 :  The finance ministry is in touch with the Reserve Bank for market intervention to check declining value of rupee, which has weakened to a low of 72.45 to a dollar, an official said Monday.

The RBI has been selling dollars to arrest declining rupee, which led to decline in forex reserves from USD 426 billion in April to USD 400.10 billion at the end of August.

The RBI has sufficient foreign exchange reserve, the official said, adding the ministry is in touch with the central bank for timely market intervention.

However, the official said that the decline of rupee is not secular as the Indian currency has strengthened against British Pound, Euro, Chinese Yuan and Japanese Yen.

The government, the official said, also has the option of tapping NRIs for raising foreign exchange but a decision in this regard would be taken after due consideration.

"There is no panic situation as most of the global currencies are facing the heat of strengthening dollar. In fact, rupee has strengthened against various other currencies," the official said.

Earlier in 2013, when the rupee fell to Rs 67.85 to a dollar due to US Federal Reserve's 'taper tantrums', the RBI came up with NRI bonds mobilising USD 26 billion through Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank Account (FCNR-B) deposits. These bonds had a maturity period of 3 years.

Experts said raising forex through NRI bonds is not a preferred option as large outflow at the time of redemption could create problem for external sector.

Current Account Deficit (CAD), which is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, rose to USD 18 billion or 2.4 per cent of GDP in April-June quarter on account of rising global crude oil prices.

Under the current circumstance, the official said, the only way to control CAD is to increase exports.PTI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:34:00 PM 0




New Delhi, Aug 29 : As many as 99.3 per cent of the old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, that were banned overnight in November 2016, have been returned, the Reserve Bank of India said in its annual report.
Of the Rs 15.41 lakh crore worth 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in circulation before November 8, 2016, notes worth Rs 15.31 lakh crore have been returned.

The "humungous task of processing and verification of specified bank notes (SBNs) was successfully achieved," it said.

The SBNs received were verified, counted and processed in the sophisticated high speed currency verification and processing system (CVPS) for accuracy and genuineness and then shredded, it added.

SBNs refer to the demonetised old 500 and 1,000 rupee.

RBI said the processing of SBNs has since been completed. "The total SBNs returned from circulation is Rs 15,310.73 billion." PTI
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Hello Jammu News at 1:05:00 PM 0

Mumbai, Aug 2: The BSE Sensex dropped over 200 points to 37,373.08 today on heavy selling in metal, auto, banking, capital and realty stocks amid sustained capital outflows by foreign funds after the RBI yesterday hiked repo rate for the second time in two months.

The repo rate, at which the central bank lends to other banks, now stands at 6.5 per cent.

Moreover, fall in Asian stocks on renewed US-China trade war concerns influenced the sentiment here, brokers said.

The 30-share index dropped 248.42 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 37,273.20. The gauge had lost 84.96 points in yesterday's session.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 72.80 points, or 0.64 per cent to 11,273.40.

Sectoral indices led by metal, auto, banking, capital goods and realty, falling up to 1.30 per cent.

Major losers were Vedanta, Tata Steel, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, M&M, HDFC, RIL, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, NTPC, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank, losing up to 2.64 per cent.

Meanwhile, Sun Pharma, PowerGrid, Coal India, HUL, IndusInd Bank, ONGC and Infosys rose up to 1.42 per cent.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 95.94 crore yesterday and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 562.33 crore, provisional data showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.36 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.54 per cent in early trade. China's Shanghai Composite index too was down 0.33 per cent.

US stocks closed mostly lower yesterday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but signalled another imminent rate increase. Fresh worries over US-China trade friction too dampened sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.32 per cent lower in yesterday's trade. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:23:00 PM 0

Mumbai, Aug 1: The Reserve Bank today retained the GDP forecast for the current fiscal at 7.4 per cent on robust corporate earnings and buoyant rural demand, though it flagged global trade tensions for Indian exports.

In the third bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2018-19, RBI said various indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to be strong.

The statement issued after three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) noted that the progress of the monsoon so far and a sharper than the usual increase in MSPs of kharif crops are expected to boost rural demand by raising farmers' income.

"Robust corporate earnings, especially of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, also reflect buoyant rural demand," the central bank said, adding that investment activity remains firm even as there has been some tightening of financing conditions in the recent period.

Based on an overall assessment, the Reserve Bank of India said that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for 2018-19 is retained, as in the June statement, at 7.4 per cent.

As per the RBI, the growth would be in the range of 7.5-7.6 per cent in first half of the fiscal and 7.3-7.4 per cent in October-March 2018-19 period "with risks evenly balanced".

The central has also projected the GDP growth for first quarter of the next financial year at 2019-20 at 7.5 per cent.

The monetary policy statement further said that increased FDI flows in recent months and continued buoyant domestic capital market conditions bode well for investment activity.

The central bank said that activity in the manufacturing sector is expected to remain robust in Q2, though there may be some moderation in pace.

Rising trade tensions may, however, have an adverse impact on India's exports. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:53:00 PM 0

Mumbai, Aug 1: The Reserve Bank today pegged retail inflation at 4.8 per cent for the second half of current fiscal expecting increase in food prices due to hike in minimum support price (MSP).

For the July-September quarter, it has projected inflation to be at 4.6 per cent.

RBI made the projections in its third monetary policy review for the current fiscal.

Retail inflation has been projected to rise further to 5 per cent in the first quarter of next financial year 2019-20.

"The inflation outlook is likely to be shaped by several factors. First, the central government has decided to fix the minimum support prices (MSPs) of at least 150 per cent of the cost of production for all kharif crops for the sowing season of 2018-19.

"This increase in MSPs for kharif crops, which is much larger than the average increase seen in the past few years, will have a direct impact on food inflation and second round effects on headline inflation," RBI said in its third bi-monthly policy review.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel has raised the benchmark repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent citing inflation worries, which is likely to make consumer products costlier.

"Based on an assessment..., inflation is projected at 4.6 per cent in Q2, 4.8 per cent in second half (H2) of 2018-19 and 5 per cent in Q1:2019-20, with risks evenly balanced," RBI said.

Excluding the HRA impact, the CPI-based inflation is projected at 4.4 per cent in Q2, 4.7-4.8 per cent in H2 and 5 per cent, it added.

On MSP hike, RBI said there is a considerable uncertainty and the exact impact would depend on the nature and scale of the government's procurement operations.

"As such, only the incremental increase in MSPs over the average increase in the past will impact inflation projections.

"Second, the overall performance of the monsoon so far augurs well for food inflation in the medium-term. Third, crude oil prices have moderated slightly, but remain at elevated levels. Fourth, the central government has reduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on several goods and services," RBI said.

This will have some direct moderating impact on inflation, provided there is a pass-through of reduced GST rates to retail consumers, it added.

Additionally, RBI said the inflation in items excluding food and fuel has been broad-based and has risen significantly in recent months, reflecting greater pass-through of rising input costs and improving demand conditions.

Citing all these reasons and that the financial markets continue to be volatile, RBI said the assessment on inflation is based on all these factors combined. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:05:00 PM 0

Mumbai, Aug 1: Reserve Bank of India for the second time in two-month raised interest rate by 0.25 per cent on inflationary concerns.

The central bank in its third bi-monthly policy of the current fiscal raised benchmark repo, or the short term rate at which it lends to other banks, by 0.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

The 6-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel kept its stance at neutral.

For July-September, it pegged CPI-based retail inflation at 4.2 per cent which it saw firming up to 4.8 per cent in the second half of the current fiscal.

The projected inflation rate is above its targeted comfort level of 4 per cent.

RBI kept the GDP forecast for the current fiscal unchanged at 7.4 per cent and saw it at 7.5-7.6 per cent in the second half of the current fiscal. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 6:49:00 PM 0

Mumbai, July 30: The 6-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, started three-day deliberations here today to decide on the key interest rate amid elevated oil prices and inflation hovering around 5 per cent.

Experts are divided in their opinion about the likely action of Reserve Bank of India on the benchmark lending rate. While some said the central bank will maintain status quo on Wednesday, others did not rule out another rate hike.

The MPC is meeting for the third bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2018-19. The resolution of the MPC will be made public in the afternoon of August 1.

RBI had increased the benchmark short term lending rate (repo rate) by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent in its last policy review in June on inflationary concerns.

The retail inflation, which is factored in by the MPC, spiked to a five-month high of 5 per cent in June on costlier fuel.

The government has mandated the Reserve Bank to keep inflation at 4 per cent (+/- 2 per cent).

Experts also opined that the government's decision to substantially hike the minimum support price for Kharif crop will have adverse impact on inflation.

While crude oil prices have come off the three year high, they continue to be volatile threatening inflation and current account deficit.

In a research report, India's largest bank SBI said that the RBI may not go for another round of rate hike at this juncture.

"We believe August rate decision is a close call, though we believe status quo rather than a hike looks the best option," it said.

The only reason for a rate hike by RBI at this juncture might be to "satiate the self fulfilling prophecy" of market expectations of a rate hike to stem the rupee depreciation (though rupee depreciated by 3 per cent post June), it added.

In SBI's view, inflation risks are still evenly balanced.

While the MSP hike could statistically push up CPI by 73 basis points, such inflation is unlikely to materialise as it is purely subject to procurement by the central/state governments.

Edelweiss Securities said: "In the upcoming policy review, we expect MPC to maintain its neutral stance while keeping the rates unchanged."

Global financial services major DBS in a research report, however said RBI is expected to go for further rate hikes this fiscal, with the next increase in the August meet.

According to DBS, upside risks to inflation and a need to maintain financial markets' stability will keep monetary policy on a tightening bias.

"We expect 50 bps more hikes in 2018-19, with the next likely in August," Radhika Rao, an economist with DBS said.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank believes that the decision on rate hike is a "close call" for RBI, but its rate-setting panel will go for a status quo on key policy rates in the upcoming policy review meet.

"It's a close call and a tough balancing act, but we expect RBI to tilt in favour of a 'hold'," its house economists said in a note. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:02:00 PM 0

New Delhi, July 24: The Reserve Bank has "wide-ranging and comprehensive" powers to address various situations in banks, the government said today against the backdrop of RBI Governor seeking greater say in dealing with bad loans of public sector banks (PSBs).

Listing out RBI's powers to deal with banks, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said the central bank can inspect the lenders, examine on oath any officer, direct special audit and give directions to banks.

Also, whole-time directors of nationalised banks and State Bank of India are appointed in consultation with the RBI, he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

"...the powers of RBI are wide-ranging and comprehensive to deal with various situations that may emerge in all banks, including public sector banks," he said.

RBI Governor Urjit Patel in his presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had last week pitched for more powers saying that the central bank has "inadequate" control over state-owned lenders.

Replying to another question on whether less money was being put in ATMs after the demonetisation, Shukla replied in negative.

RBI has informed that the total amount of Notes in Circulation (NIC) as on July 18, 2018 was Rs 19.28 lakh crore as compared to Rs 17.74 lakh crore as on November 4, 2016, he said.

"RBI has ensured adequate supply of notes to meet the cash requirement of public and the currency supply is monitored continuously to ensure distribution of adequate currency to various parts of the country," he said.

The government, he added, has requested all banks to efficiently manage the cash to ensure that adequate cash is available for ATMs and people do not face any problems. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 12:28:00 PM 0

Muzaffarnagar, Jul 12: Police have booked an Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) branch manager here for allegedly depositing fake demonetised currency notes to the RBI, officials said today.

The case was registered yesterday based on a complaint filed by a manager of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) branch in Kanpur, circle officer Harish Bhadoria said.

According to the complaint, 117 demonetised currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 deposited by the OBC branch, where the accused is the manager, were found to be fake. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 12:52:00 PM 0

New Delhi, Jul 11: Outgoing Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian will brief a parliamentary panel on the issue of mounting non-performing assets today.

While the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have also been summoned by the panel to discuss the matter, a date for the same is yet to be decided, sources said.

The parliament's committee on estimates, headed by veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, was yesterday briefed by senior finance ministry officials, including Hasmukh Adhia and deputy governors of the RBI.

Members of the panel posed a number of questions over the rising non-performing assets (NPAs) and crisis in the banking sector, sources said.

During the meeting, which lasted for more than four hours, the members demanded various documents including minutes of the board meetings of the public sector banks, in which high-ticket value loans were approved.

Sources said ED Director Karnal Singh and CBI Director Alok Verma will also brief the panel on the issue.

The investigating agencies have been called as they are probing various cases of NPAs and complaints against senior bank officials related to sanctioning of loans.

The banking sector is grappling with rising non-performing assets, which touched Rs 8.99 lakh crore or 10.11 per cent of total advances at December-end 2017.

Of the gross NPAs, the public sector banks accounted for Rs 7.77 lakh crore.

The rising number of frauds has become a serious cause of concern.  (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 7:13:00 PM 0

PULWAMA, JULY 02: District Development Commissioner Pulwama, Ghulam Mohammad Dar, today chaired a joint meeting of bankers and sponsoring agencies to review the progress achieved under targeted schemes launched by the banks in collaboration with the line departments for the quarter ending March 2018.
The meeting was attended by LDO RBI, Cluster Head J&K bank and District Coordinators of all the banks, besides District officers, heads of all the line departments and representatives of sponsoring agencies.
Lead District Manager informed meeting that total credit deposit from all the banks operating in the district ending quarter 2018 stands at Rs 2020.69 crore, of which Rs 1445.71 crore (72 % of total credit) stands deployed under priority sector lending and Rs 574.98 Crores (28%) under non-priority sector.
Credit Deposit Ratio at the end of March 2018stands at 78.29 per cent, the meeting was informed.
Under Agricultural and Horticulture sectors, banks have disbursed an amount of Rs 541.28 crore to 16830 beneficiaries against the target of Rs 645.14 crore to 30502 beneficiaries. Of total achievements under agricultural sector, banks have disbursed an amount of Rs 456.50 crore to 15191 farmers /fruit growers up to March 2018 against the annual target of 382.10 crore to 25318 farmers.
Under medium small and micro enterprises banks have disbursed Rs 290.06 crore to 6242 beneficiaries up to ending March 2018.  
In the education sector, during the quarter ending March 2018, Rs 3.65 crore have been disbursed in favour of 244 beneficiaries against the target of Rs 9.76 crore to 244 beneficiaries resulting in achievement of 37% and 100% in financial and physical terms respectively.
On the occasion, the DDC said that Pulwama has a huge potential in export activities. "The need of the hour is to make aware the public who are involved in the export business like Saffron, Walnut, Apricot and other agricultural and horticultural products regarding the export lending facilities by the banks," he added. In this regard, he directed the concerned officials to organize a mega seminar where people can be made aware of the scope and benefits of export-oriented activities.
He expressed his displeasure over the dismal performance in export credit and sought detailed report in this regard.
The DDC stressed upon the bank authorities and sponsoring agencies to work in cooperation and cohesion to achieve the set goals, besides generation of employment for unemployed youth of the district. 
He directed for the establishment of a driving school for the girls in the district. He also asked all line departments and banks to conduct awareness programmes at village/ block levels to generate proper awareness among the people about various schemes launched by the government for benefit of the common people.
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